Note from the President

November 2024

Although symbolic interactionism emerged in the U.S., the SSSI itself has always been international. In the first SSSI Notes (published in the spring of 1975), Canada was listed as an SSSI “region” with a coordinator, and there was a lengthy report on the long-running impact of Mead’s thought in Japan, where symbolic interactionist seminars had been held since the 1940s. Over the years, we’ve regularly seen scholars from outside North America attend the annual meetings, although costs and politics have been concerns, if not outright barriers. In 2010, European interactionists formed the Eu-SSSI and have held successful meetings across Europe that, while too far or too expensive for some members, have helped balance the scales by offering a relatively affordable conference experience for those outside of North America. The first of those was in Pisa, Italy, in 2010, which I attended with my family (including my 6-month-old son; perhaps the youngest attendee ever?). Despite Covid-19 delaying what would have been a 10-year anniversary, the SSSI nevertheless returned to the University of Pisa this year for our annual meeting. It was a great conference, to be sure, full of food, spirit, and collegiality. I presented findings from two recent studies on Singaporean and Chinese social media and had the pleasure of observing papers on a diverse range of empirical topics presented by colleagues from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, the UK, and others. Several students were able to travel to Italy thanks only to a generous donation in 2022 by the family of Carl Couch to support the Society. In sum, the Pisa conference was a good representation, like the SSSI itself, of international diversity.

None of this would have been possible without a dedicated group of interactionists who make it possible. I would like to thank all those who have held past positions as SSSI Officers—Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers, Publications Committee Chairs, and journal and Notes Editors—as well as the many others who have served in various capacities, from committees (publications committee, awards committees, diversity and development committees, and other ad hoc and special committees) to those who manage our communication platforms and accounts. Special thanks to Jacqueline Low and Andrea Salvini for their meticulous preparation of the annual meeting. By the way, Andrea Salvini not only graciously hosted the meeting but also won the George Herbert Mead Award for lifetime achievement! Congratulations also to our award winners: Tom DeGloma (Charles Horton Cooley Award for best new book), Oded Marom (Herbert Blumer Award for best student paper), Beth Montemurro (Helena Lopata Award for mentoring excellence), and Deana Simonetto (Kathy Charmaz Early-in-Career Award).

Looking forward to 2025, I want to spend my time as President ensuring that the SSSI maintains its strengths and builds upon them when and where possible. I’ve had several informal meetings in recent months with Ph.D. students who have attended recent SSSI conferences to try to get a sense of what is working and what could be changed to keep the Society relevant to our members. I’ve also been in communication with various folks about how we can maintain or extend our ties to other professional organizations. I recently submitted paperwork to renew our affiliation with the National Communication Association in the U.S. and am looking into whether or how the SSSI might benefit from building connections to other associations outside the U.S. More on that as the year progresses. We’ll also be making some more changes to the website—www.symbolicinteraction.org—and doing better at keeping it up to date. And let’s not forget that Vice-President Chris Schneider is chairing the 2025 annual meetings, which are scheduled for August 6–8, 2025, at the Voco Hotel in Chicago. The theme is “media of interaction,” and you can read more about it in this issue.

J. Patrick Williams